"I appreciate the innovative modalities of action being
envisaged, and welcome the intention to involve civil society organizations
in the work of the ACC Network on Rural Development and Food Security and,
particularly, in the activities of thematic groups within the Resident Coordinators
system."
Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his letter dated 25 August 1997 to the FAO
Director-General

One of the guiding principles of the ACC Network on Rural Development and
Food Security is that it should be pluralistic, encouraging the participation
of all the relevant stakeholders and development partners. The Network therefore
provides an excellent opportunity for diverse actors to work together in
pursuit of common goals based on their desire and commitment to promote
rural development and to overcome global food insecurity. In this context,
Thematic Groups at the country level have been encouraged to involve relevant
governmental and non-governmental organizations, including national institutions,
bilateral and multilateral organizations, and representatives of civil society
and the private sector, alongside UN Agencies.

Who and what are civil society organizations (CSOs)?

'Civil society organizations' (CSOs) encompass a broad range of independent
and heterogeneous groups and organizations. They are established on the
direct initiative of individual members or groups of society and do not
belong to the official governmental, political or administrative systems
at any level.

CSOs can be national or international, local or regional. Their roles may
be focused around one particular technical or issue area (e.g. sustainable
agriculture, environment, gender, population etc.) or may be multiple. Their
activities are broad-ranging and include: advocacy; representation; technical
support; service provision; capacity-building; training; research and extension;
data collection; information diffusion, etc..

Benefits and enhanced outcomes of partnerships with civil society

Many types of CSOs are now recognized to have substantial knowledge about
what works in sustainable development and to play a crucial role in contributing
to the smooth functioning of the agricultural and rural development sectors.
Large numbers of CSOs all over the world have demonstrated their capacities
and expertise in supporting the survival strategies of the urban and rural
poor who are directly affected by problems associated with poverty and food
insecurity. Indeed, many of the constituencies represented by CSOs are the
communities concerned by problems related to rural development and food
security including food producers, women, young people, consumers, the rural
and urban poor.

"Everyone recognizes that governments alone cannot solve
these problems and that, if we are to make any progress, we need the energy
and expertise that reside in civil society."excerpt from the FAO Director-General's address to the opening session of
the NGO Forum on Food Security, Rome, 11-17 November 1996.

Many civil society organizations have the potential to make a rich contribution
and valuable input to the work of Thematic Groups at the national level.
For instance, they can share their knowledge and expertise, often gained
by working directly with communities at the grassroots level, and provide
the lessons learned as a result of designing and implementing programmes
related to rural development and food security. CSOs can also play an important
role in advocacy and information sharing, as well as in the mobilisation
of resources. Some CSOs can make an important contribution to the policy
dialogue for food security planning. Indeed, a number of CSOs were invited
by their national governments to contribute to the preparation of national
position papers and strategies for the World Food Summit while many CSOs
were actively involved throughout the entire process.

CSOs: Active participants in the World Food Summit process

A large number of CSOs contributed to the debate and participated actively
throughout the World Food Summit process. The necessity to involve all actors
of civil society in Summit follow-up was underlined by governments as well
as by international organizations and NGOs.

The World Food Summit Plan of Action (PoA) recognizes the important contribution
made by CSOs in such areas as food security and agriculture, fisheries,
forestry and rural development and commits governments to undertake a number
of follow-up actions "in partnership with all actors of civil society"
within the seven commitment areas.

The PoA states the need for governments to "actively encourage a greater
role for, and alliances with, civil society organizations in addressing
food security." (Objective 7.1 (d)). With regard to implementation,
it states that: "Individuals and households have a key role in decisions
and actions affecting their food security. They must be enabled and encouraged
to participate actively, both individually and also collectively, through
producers, consumers and other organizations of civil society." (Objective
7.5 (a)).

At the same time, CSOs attending the NGO Forum on Food Security held in
Rome at the time of the Summit, publicly committed themselves in their Declaration
"Profit for Few or Food for All" to monitor the seven commitment
areas in the PoA.

"In the process of sustainable development, effective
and efficient governments, markets, and civil societies are equally needed.
At the end of the day, what is required is to create a synthesis, a complementarity,
between the efforts and the creativity of all sectors of society. The results
of this synthesis will be synergy - combined efforts will produce outcomes
that will exceed the sum total of their parts."from a paper prepared for the Conference on Hunger and Poverty, Brussels,
20-21 November 1995(see http://www.ifad.org/over.html)

Involving civil society organizations in the work of Thematic Groups is
likely to result in enhanced access to skills, contacts and expertise in
a number of areas (e.g. participatory research, indigenous knowledge, information
outreach, gender etc.). By taking advantage of the complementarities and
synergies that exist between UN Agencies, national institutions, bilateral
and multilateral organisations and CSOs, Thematic Groups therefore have
a real opportunity to increase the efficiency, sustainability and success
of their activities.

Positive experiences

While it is accepted that the final decisions on the exact membership of
individual Thematic Groups will be determined by each Group according to
local priorities and opportunities, Groups have been encouraged to include
civil society organizations (CSOs) with experience in the areas of rural
development and food security. For instance, it is suggested that Thematic
Groups seek to include the CSOs in their country which were involved in
the preparatory process for the World Food Summit or are members of the
Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty (http://www.ifad.org/coalition.html)

Civil society organizations are already participating in country-level Thematic
Groups in some countries, illustrating the potential of using the Network
to promote alliances and partnerships between the different actors working
to promote rural development and enhance food security at the national level.
Other Groups have stated their intention to involve CSOs in the future.

In Bangladesh, civil society actors are engaged in the Sub-group
on Food Security and Nutrition which is affiliated to the Network. CSOs
represented include: the Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh
(ADAB), Helen Keller International, CARE Bangladesh, International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Centre are all members. See Bangladesh
Thematic Group profile

Next steps: getting involved

Civil society organizations interested in participating in the work of country-level
Thematic Groups should contact the FAO or UNDP representative in their country
to express their interest.

Thematic Groups wishing to know which civil society organizations in their
country were actively involved in the World Food Summit should contact the
Network Secretariat at the e-mail address rdfs-net@fao.org.
Groups wishing to know which organizations are participating in the Popular
Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty should contact Mr. Bahman Mansuri,
Programme Director, Resource Strategy Development, IFAD, via del Serafico
107, 00142 Rome, Italy; e-mail: b.mansuri@ifad.org.